Snippet #2
Yay!!! 20,000 words! I'm still way behind. I'm supposed to be at, what, 36,667 words?
But anyway, excerpt time! My profile page has another new excerpt as well, a bit longer than the old one.
It was an unbearably long month. Really, the one thing that made it so long was that absolutely nothing could be accomplished during it. An exaggeration. He had devised a showy display of lights and fireworks, but that was trivial. He had purposefully done it without putting in any skill, thought, or imagination. He resented his stubbornly optimistic streak.
Despite his resolution to continue life as normal, the truth was that most of each day that month was spent at the seventh floor of the west tower searching the forest for movement. When he wasn't doing that, he was pondering how strange it was, that men could be frightened into being honest. At least he hoped they could. Then, late at night-always late at night, when he would actually be able to lose sleep from it-he wondered if he was merely getting better at making use of his intimidating form, or if he was becoming more like it, inside and out.
But the month was finally over. If the ex-merchant was going to come at all, it would be today. With or without his daughter, though?
Already, the Beast's optimism was getting the better of him. The ex-merchant might not come. Then what? Then... nothing. More waiting, perhaps? More waiting with a touch more of resignation, most likely.
Calm, matter-of-fact words hid nervousness. It was true. He could hear his heartbeat drumming in his ears and against the side of his head. He was at the top of the west tower again, watching for movement below. The sun had already set and they still hadn't come. Well, he was glad that they hadn't come in the morning or afternoon, actually, or the fireworks display would surely have looked less impressive.
He waited for a while longer and yawned. Just as he stood up to go inside and eat dinner, he saw the horse. Zimeth charged along the path through the forest. A few seconds later, she had crossed through the gate. Immediately, all the lights in the castle and garden lit up and fireworks exploded high in the sky. The Beast watched it with a critical eye. It was definitely more gaudy than he remembered it.
Zimeth ran nearly up to the front door, but at the last second slid to a quick halt. There was a pause and then the familiar figure of the merchant dismounted from Zimeth and a smaller figure slipped off the horse to the other side.
The Beast stood up straight. Two! The small one looked up at the top of the castle for a while and then followed her father into the building. The Beast paced back and forth, even more anxious than before.
What would he say? How would he act in front of the two of them? He must be cold, he decided. He walked down the steps to the second floor hallway where the ex-merchant had stayed before. As he expected, when he drew close to the room, he could hear voices and the clinking of silverware. He inched closer to the doorway, making as little noise as possible and strained to pick up their conversation.
"This castle is truly magical," one voice whispered to the other.
"To be honest, every part of it frightens me now, even the silence," the ex-merchant's voice whispered back.
"I wonder how all the lamps were lit at the same time. That was amazing."
"I never thought that I would be in this room eating dinner again. Luckily we haven't met the Beast yet."
The Beast, annoyed, thought to himself, "Just for that..." He walked into the room, not taking any care with silencing his footsteps.
The ex-merchant jumped in his seat and held onto his daughter's arm, visibly shaking. The Beast glanced at the ex-merchant's daughter, not long enough to take in any other detail than that she was staring at him before he averted his glance. His eyes settled on the tall window, its curtains opened to show the forest beyond the castle wall.
With a clank of silverware, the two guests stood up.
"Good-" the girl began in a small voice, then cleared her throat and continued in a stronger voice, "Good evening, my lord."
"Beast," he replied, finally prying his eyes away from the window to look at the person who had addressed him. The girl was dressed in a grey hooded cloak and a plain black dress and was wearing oversized black gloves. Her skin was pale, like her father's; in contrast, her hair was dark and fell in wavy tendrils over her shoulders. Her mouth was pulled into a small, nervous smile.
"Good evening, Beast," she amended.
"Good evening to you as well," he responded. "Merchant and daughter. Are you enjoying your dinner?"
"Yes, thank you very much for your kindness," the girl said. Her father, on the other hand, seemed too depressed to be enjoying anything at the moment, least of all the dinner.
The Beast remained standing in place as an uncomfortable silence filled the room. "Continue eating," he said finally. The two of them sat down again and began to eat. They finished and sat for a while more in silence. Finally realizing that the father and daughter were meekly waiting for him to say something, he decided to speak. The first thing that came to mind was, "You came here of your own will? You're willing to stay here in place of your father?"
The girl answered, "Yes."
"Good." For now, it was all that he needed to know. Since dinner was finished, the Beast turned to leave. Just as he was about to go out the door, he finally made up his mind to say, "Follow me."
He led them down to the main floor, down a hallway, into a small room used for storage. Inside, on the floor, there were two chests. They were very deep and decorated with gold ribbing. On one side of the room was a wall that was actually made up of a series of sliding doors. They opened to reveal several closets. On the other side of the room were trunks filled with boxes filled with random items. It had been a long time since he had looked through them.
"Fill the chests with whatever you want, and I'll have the horse bring them to your home, along with you," he said, indicating the ex-merchant with a nod.
"Do you mean... you're giving these things to us as a gift?" the man asked, holding up a small jewelry box that contained rings set with precious stones.
"If you want to call it that," the Beast answered, inwardly smirking as the ex-merchant glanced worriedly at his daughter, who was already exploring the inside of the closet and bringing out dresses, shoes, coats, and hats that she particularly liked. He wasn't sure whether it was good or bad, but the Beast definitely enjoyed scaring the poor man.
Deciding it was best to give them time to sort through the treasures of the room and decide which ones to take, the Beast went out of the room and sat in the hallway nearby.
"See, Papa? He's not such a bad beast," the girl said cheerfully.
It bothered him. She was too cheerful, too carefree. Was she stupid? Was she so unattached to her family that parting from them forever was a trivial matter?
Or maybe she was already planning to escape and return to them soon. The thought numbed him. It was the most likely reason.
"Beauty, come look at this!" the old man's voice came from the room.
Beauty? Was that her name? A nickname? He didn't like it either. It was such an empty name. Frustration rising in his chest, the Beast walked out of the castle on all fours down to the garden. He sat for a long while in the chilly night air, looking up at the sky. The night sky was clear and filled with stars, with a haloed full moon high overhead.
"How?!" he wanted to roar. How could he be gentle enough to be loved, yet ferocious so that she would be too afraid to leave? How could an empty girl named Beauty understand who he was?
But anyway, excerpt time! My profile page has another new excerpt as well, a bit longer than the old one.
It was an unbearably long month. Really, the one thing that made it so long was that absolutely nothing could be accomplished during it. An exaggeration. He had devised a showy display of lights and fireworks, but that was trivial. He had purposefully done it without putting in any skill, thought, or imagination. He resented his stubbornly optimistic streak.
Despite his resolution to continue life as normal, the truth was that most of each day that month was spent at the seventh floor of the west tower searching the forest for movement. When he wasn't doing that, he was pondering how strange it was, that men could be frightened into being honest. At least he hoped they could. Then, late at night-always late at night, when he would actually be able to lose sleep from it-he wondered if he was merely getting better at making use of his intimidating form, or if he was becoming more like it, inside and out.
But the month was finally over. If the ex-merchant was going to come at all, it would be today. With or without his daughter, though?
Already, the Beast's optimism was getting the better of him. The ex-merchant might not come. Then what? Then... nothing. More waiting, perhaps? More waiting with a touch more of resignation, most likely.
Calm, matter-of-fact words hid nervousness. It was true. He could hear his heartbeat drumming in his ears and against the side of his head. He was at the top of the west tower again, watching for movement below. The sun had already set and they still hadn't come. Well, he was glad that they hadn't come in the morning or afternoon, actually, or the fireworks display would surely have looked less impressive.
He waited for a while longer and yawned. Just as he stood up to go inside and eat dinner, he saw the horse. Zimeth charged along the path through the forest. A few seconds later, she had crossed through the gate. Immediately, all the lights in the castle and garden lit up and fireworks exploded high in the sky. The Beast watched it with a critical eye. It was definitely more gaudy than he remembered it.
Zimeth ran nearly up to the front door, but at the last second slid to a quick halt. There was a pause and then the familiar figure of the merchant dismounted from Zimeth and a smaller figure slipped off the horse to the other side.
The Beast stood up straight. Two! The small one looked up at the top of the castle for a while and then followed her father into the building. The Beast paced back and forth, even more anxious than before.
What would he say? How would he act in front of the two of them? He must be cold, he decided. He walked down the steps to the second floor hallway where the ex-merchant had stayed before. As he expected, when he drew close to the room, he could hear voices and the clinking of silverware. He inched closer to the doorway, making as little noise as possible and strained to pick up their conversation.
"This castle is truly magical," one voice whispered to the other.
"To be honest, every part of it frightens me now, even the silence," the ex-merchant's voice whispered back.
"I wonder how all the lamps were lit at the same time. That was amazing."
"I never thought that I would be in this room eating dinner again. Luckily we haven't met the Beast yet."
The Beast, annoyed, thought to himself, "Just for that..." He walked into the room, not taking any care with silencing his footsteps.
The ex-merchant jumped in his seat and held onto his daughter's arm, visibly shaking. The Beast glanced at the ex-merchant's daughter, not long enough to take in any other detail than that she was staring at him before he averted his glance. His eyes settled on the tall window, its curtains opened to show the forest beyond the castle wall.
With a clank of silverware, the two guests stood up.
"Good-" the girl began in a small voice, then cleared her throat and continued in a stronger voice, "Good evening, my lord."
"Beast," he replied, finally prying his eyes away from the window to look at the person who had addressed him. The girl was dressed in a grey hooded cloak and a plain black dress and was wearing oversized black gloves. Her skin was pale, like her father's; in contrast, her hair was dark and fell in wavy tendrils over her shoulders. Her mouth was pulled into a small, nervous smile.
"Good evening, Beast," she amended.
"Good evening to you as well," he responded. "Merchant and daughter. Are you enjoying your dinner?"
"Yes, thank you very much for your kindness," the girl said. Her father, on the other hand, seemed too depressed to be enjoying anything at the moment, least of all the dinner.
The Beast remained standing in place as an uncomfortable silence filled the room. "Continue eating," he said finally. The two of them sat down again and began to eat. They finished and sat for a while more in silence. Finally realizing that the father and daughter were meekly waiting for him to say something, he decided to speak. The first thing that came to mind was, "You came here of your own will? You're willing to stay here in place of your father?"
The girl answered, "Yes."
"Good." For now, it was all that he needed to know. Since dinner was finished, the Beast turned to leave. Just as he was about to go out the door, he finally made up his mind to say, "Follow me."
He led them down to the main floor, down a hallway, into a small room used for storage. Inside, on the floor, there were two chests. They were very deep and decorated with gold ribbing. On one side of the room was a wall that was actually made up of a series of sliding doors. They opened to reveal several closets. On the other side of the room were trunks filled with boxes filled with random items. It had been a long time since he had looked through them.
"Fill the chests with whatever you want, and I'll have the horse bring them to your home, along with you," he said, indicating the ex-merchant with a nod.
"Do you mean... you're giving these things to us as a gift?" the man asked, holding up a small jewelry box that contained rings set with precious stones.
"If you want to call it that," the Beast answered, inwardly smirking as the ex-merchant glanced worriedly at his daughter, who was already exploring the inside of the closet and bringing out dresses, shoes, coats, and hats that she particularly liked. He wasn't sure whether it was good or bad, but the Beast definitely enjoyed scaring the poor man.
Deciding it was best to give them time to sort through the treasures of the room and decide which ones to take, the Beast went out of the room and sat in the hallway nearby.
"See, Papa? He's not such a bad beast," the girl said cheerfully.
It bothered him. She was too cheerful, too carefree. Was she stupid? Was she so unattached to her family that parting from them forever was a trivial matter?
Or maybe she was already planning to escape and return to them soon. The thought numbed him. It was the most likely reason.
"Beauty, come look at this!" the old man's voice came from the room.
Beauty? Was that her name? A nickname? He didn't like it either. It was such an empty name. Frustration rising in his chest, the Beast walked out of the castle on all fours down to the garden. He sat for a long while in the chilly night air, looking up at the sky. The night sky was clear and filled with stars, with a haloed full moon high overhead.
"How?!" he wanted to roar. How could he be gentle enough to be loved, yet ferocious so that she would be too afraid to leave? How could an empty girl named Beauty understand who he was?